When I got home from my Easter vacation home to see my family, I posted about my grandma teaching me to knit her “famous” dish scrubbers. I finally got a chance to type up the pattern to share with you all. You can find it on Ravelry and you can download it here: Grandma Rita’s Nylon Dish Scrubbers (PDF).

I just added it to Ravelry on Friday and 15 people have added it to their queues, and 23 have added it as a favorite! That’s so exciting. I hope soon people will share pictures of ones they’ve made because I’d love to be able to show my grandma next time I go home for a visit. I’m sure she’ll be tickled to see how many people enjoyed her pattern.

It also makes me want to design some things myself. I’ve been experimenting with some things, but of course I always have so many things on the needles that it’s tough to find time, I guess. (And besides, I’m still a relative beginner with this whole knitting thing! — Maybe advanced-beginner?)

I’ve been working hard on finishing my spinning wheel…

I’m using Minwax Polyshades (stain and polyurethane in one) in “Bombay Mahogany”. (I’m a sucker for red-colored wood!) Most of the pieces in the photo I’ve just finished 1 coat on, except the treadles — they have 2 and you can get a better idea of the color from those. I think it’s going to be really beautiful. Unfortunately, the weather just isn’t cooperating at all — it’s cold and damp and the pieces just aren’t drying fast enough. *sigh* But hopefully it will be done soon. I can’t wait to start spinning!

Being crafty, that is.  I spent a lot of my weekend at home for Easter doing crafty stuff. My mom, grandma, and I sat around the kitchen table knitting and crocheting:

Mom and I are working on sock-knitting, Grandma is crocheting.

Grandma Rita originally taught me to crochet when I was about 7 or 8, I think.  This past weekend, she taught me how to crochet dish-scrubbers made from strips of nylon netting.  They’re seriously the best dish scrubbers ever! (I’ll try to post her pattern later.)  The nylon netting is a bit hard on the fingers.  I made three of the scrubbers: the first one was pretty bad.  I never realized I crochet so tight!  I switched to a bigger hook and had a lot better luck.  By the third scrubber, they were starting to look pretty descent.

I have really talented (artistic, crafty) friends too…

Check out the felted monkey that Melanie made for me!  (I actually got her to pose with it — she hates having her picture taken.)

She needle-felted the head and body and the arms, legs, and tail are wet-felted.  It’s about the cutest darn thing ever!  I need to find a fun place to display him — somewhere on a high shelf or something so the cat can’t get to him.

And I have to show off one more thing…

My mom finished the double wedding ring quilt that she made for Nick and I.

I love it.  I’ve wanted a double wedding ring quilt since I was a little girl and my mom quilted a wall-hanging version for herself.  I remember my mom telling me that it’s a traditional wedding gift.  I’m not sure if it’s an actual myth or if I invented it in my head, but much as I wanted one, I told my mom not to make me one till I was married because I considered it bad luck.  So finally, here’s our quilt!

 First, this has nothing to do with knitting, but OMGz we got tickets to see Eddie Izzard June 20th!!  I’m ridiculously excited.  It’s Eddie-effing-Izzard, people!  Jeezy-creezy!

Anyway.

We’re going home to Pennsylvania for Easter!  Nick and I haven’t been home for a visit since our wedding back at the beginning of October.  Erica will also be traveling home with us, as will Gracie the wonder-dog.  Poor Gidget and the ferrets will be staying home, but luckily Erica’s husband volunteered to check on them while we’re gone.

Erica and I are planning to have a knitting/crochet marathon during the drive, so I’ve been planning what projects to pack.  I think I’ve decided on:

• Saartje’s booties for my friend Rachel who’s actually due today with her first-born.  I started these last night and they’re so fun and quick to make!  I think I’ll be able to make several pair with the 2 balls of yarn I got.
• The Baby Surprise Jacket (also a gift for Rachel)
• My TNKS sock club project: make your own sock from New Pathways for Sock Knitters (think I’m going to base mine on the Slipstitch Rings pattern from the book)
• And a plain stockinette sock of some kind (need to go through my sock yarn stash and find something fun!)

Speaking of sock yarn stash, did I show you what came in the mail the other day?

I got some new Wollmeise!  The top one is Emil, middle is Wilder Mohn, and bottom is Paul.  The Wilder Mohn is so bright that it’s very difficult to photograph.  This is the 80/20 Twin blend that was posted in The Loopy Ewe sneak up last week.

While I’m home for the weekend, my mom and I are also planning a trip to her LYS, Cultured Purl.  I didn’t think they’d be open, but it turns out they’ll be open from 10 to 5 on Saturday.  Woohoo!

This is going to be a fun trip…

(a.k.a. The entry in which I gush about the lovely people I am lucky enough to call family.)

My mom called this weekend to tell me she finished her socks! She posted a photo to her Flickr page but set it as friends-only viewing. I asked her why and she said because she didn’t think anyone would be interested in seeing them. I disagree.

Aren’t they lovely?! (Click to see a larger version of the photo.)

I can’t believe those are her first pair. I don’t think my first pair of socks looked nearly that good. If I remember correctly, she used Wool in the Woods Cherub and the pattern was Heather Strips and Stripes.

One of these days I’m going to get my mom to start blogging. (I’m currently working on setting up a site for her custom embroidery and quilting at UnbrokenThread.com.) I’d love to see her share some of her beautiful work online and get into the whole craft-blogging “scene” too. I mean, look at what else she finished over the weekend:

I wish you could see the detail of the quilting. It was the first project she’s completed on her long-arm quilting machine. I’m telling you, my mom is a crafty wonder-woman.

Then Nick surprised me over the weekend when he interrupted my knitting and audiobook-listening to ask if I had some scrap fleece around.

He wanted to make… get this… a radar detector cozy. Seriously.

Well, perhaps “cozy” isn’t quite the right term. More of a little sack to put it into so he could safely tuck it under the seat in his car out of sight… or something. (I don’t really claim to get it.)

I was so pleased that he wanted to do something (*gasp*) crafty that I was more than happy to put down my knitting and help. Not that he needed much help, really. He was in luck because I had some leftover blue fleece from the bedding I’d made for the ferrets not long ago. So he set to work crafting himself a little bag for his radar detector.

He wielded a rotary cutter like a pro and seemed as “at home” at the pedal of a sewing machine as he is at the gas pedal of his car.

I had this weird sense of pride watching him work on this project. (He’d probably think I was nuts if I told him that.) I just think it’s so cool that he can tear apart cars and rewire electronics but that he can also sew if the mood strikes him. He’s a pretty impressive guy.